By Allan Jones

To be honest with you before last night I was not quite sure what to make of The Libertines.

I never caught them live first time around and since then more words have been written about their exploits off stage than on.

The first surprise was that the BIC was about three quarters full and I was expecting last years Reading festival headliners to have packed the place to the rafters.

The security was a bit more obvious than at most gigs and a bit more beer made its way over the heads of the crowd but from what I saw people were just there to enjoy the music and have a good time.

The Enemy had the crowd bouncing and by the time the Libertines hit the stage the crowd were one of the liveliest I have seen at the BIC for a long time.

There is no doubt that as songwriters they are amongst the finest around at the moment.

As a live band they vary from a tight unit belting out a sound fit to fill an arena to a bit rough around the edges.

And perhaps that's the appeal of The Libertines - they make you feel as though that could be you or me up there on the stage (if only we had the raw talent and were able to write lyrics and produce songs that strike a cord with thousands)!

I left with a new found respect for a band that had mostly passed me by until now and will definitely be catching them again next time round.